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New Era! NGX Welcomes Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc With Closing Gong Ceremony

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The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, on Tuesday, July 13, marked the listing of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc’s (“GTCO Plc”) shares with a Closing Gong Ceremony on the main floor of the exchange.

This follows the completion of all regulatory requirements for the corporate reorganization of the leading financial institution into a holding company structure and the listing of GTCO Plc, on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the London Stock Exchange, replacing Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

Guaranty Trust was first listed on the Nigerian Exchange in 1997, winning the “Nigerian Stock Exchange President’s Merit Award” within months of its listing.

In 2007, it became the first Nigerian bank to list on London Stock Exchange, the first to dual list on an international exchange, and the first Nigerian company to raise international capital using listed Global Depositary Receipts. Since then, Guaranty Trust has embarked on a decade of unparalleled growth with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at ₦4.993trillion and ₦837.2billion respectively, at the end of Q1, 2021.

As part of its long-term growth strategy, Guaranty Trust has now adopted a holding company structure wherein GTCO Plc will operate as the parent company of all Guaranty Trust banking businesses across Africa and the United Kingdom as well as other non-banking businesses which will be established following the transition.

Segun Agbaje, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust, commented: “These are very exciting times for us. Following our transition, we can now compete more effectively with non-banks in this new and evolving competitive landscape, whilst creating more value for customers and shareholders than we ever could as a bank.

Although we are delighted to have completed this rigorous transition process, we know that the hard work has just begun. We are in the final phase of building a new payments business that will deepen and extend digital financial services across Africa. We also believe that we are in a better position to drive an Asset Management business and a Pension Fund business, given our strong retail base and digital-first approach to financial services, which we have honed over the past decade.”

Founded in 1990, Guaranty Trust has maintained an unbroken streak of year-on-year growth and a consistent lead in driving the digitization of financial services in Africa. It is the best managed financial institution in Nigeria, leading the industry across key financial indices, such as Return on Equity (ROAE of 26.0% in Q1 2021), Return on Assets (ROAA of 4.3% in Q1 2021), and Cost to Income ratio (42.6% in Q1 2021).

BIG STORY

Petrol Landing Cost Drops To N971 Per Litre — MEMA Report

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The estimated cost of landing Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, on Nigeria’s shores has seen a significant reduction of 20.34 percent, dropping to N971.57 per litre over the past three months.

This decline in landing cost, which reflects the price of importing and distributing the product, suggests some relief in terms of global market fluctuations and supply chain factors.

However, despite this reduction, the retail price of petrol in Nigeria has sharply increased by N443, or 71.79 percent, from N617 per litre on August 1, 2024, to N1,060 per litre by November 8, 2024.

According to data released by the Major Energies Marketers Association, in its competency centre daily energy bulletin, oil marketers imported petrol at N1,219 per litre, based on a Brent crude oil price benchmark of $80.72 per barrel and an exchange rate of N1,611 per dollar in August. Petrol sold at N617 per litre during this period.

In November, with an estimated landing cost of N971.57, a Brent crude price benchmark of $75.57 per barrel, and an exchange rate of N1,665.84 per dollar, the product currently sells at N1,060 at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail station and N1,180 at stations owned by independent marketers.

The document also showed that the landing cost stood at N945.63 in September 2024 and N903.64 per litre in October 2024. This increase, despite falling landing costs, can be attributed to factors such as the ongoing deregulation of the fuel market, fluctuations in the exchange rate, rising inflation, and broader economic challenges facing the country.

However, experts say they expect the reduction in landing cost to lead to a corresponding drop in the retail price of petrol.

On Sunday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) accused fuel marketers of inflating petrol prices, claiming the pump price is significantly higher than the actual market value.

In a communique released following its National Executive Council meeting, the NLC contended that Nigerians are being exploited, with citizens enduring heightened suffering and hunger due to government policies that are pushing many into destitution.

The organization’s call underscores its growing concerns over the economic strain on Nigerians and its commitment to holding both fuel marketers and the government accountable for citizens’ welfare.

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BIG STORY

Oil Marketers Respond To Dangote Refinery Claims, Say SON, NMDPRA Certify Imported Petrol

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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) certify the imported Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, that is imported into Nigeria, oil marketers have said.

They disclosed this on Thursday in response to claims by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were imported into the country by dealers.

On Tuesday, the refinery informed Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other oil marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for the importation of off-spec petroleum products or the undermining of Nigeria’s national interests.

Oil marketers denied this claim on Thursday, with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, revealing that his firm signed a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute the refinery’s petroleum products through pipelines.

Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”

His position was confirmed by SON, as an impeccable source at the agency told one of our correspondents that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria was involved in the testing of imported petroleum products.

The official added that the organisation operates its own laboratory facility to check if the commodities are off-spec or not.

“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.

A major marketer also kicked against the claim that dealers import off-spec products into the country, particularly since the downstream oil sector was deregulated by the Federal Government.

“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.

“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory, but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.

“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge, they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.

The Dangote refinery had also said the Pinnacle MD approached it, pleading with the refinery to extend pipelines to its tank farms in order to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its ‘high-quality’ ones.

Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.

The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.

According to him, when the project was proposed to Dangote, it wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.

“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.

“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.

“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.

He narrated that a lot of processes had gone into the project since it was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, getting the right of way, and letters of no objections from anyone who could be affected by the pipeline.

“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.

This came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited denied a video clip that claimed the oil firm was selling dirty fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet at Keffi Flyover.

“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.

“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”

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BIG STORY

UPDATE: Three Oil Marketers Sue Dangote, Insist On Petrol Import

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Three oil marketers—AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited—have urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

In a joint counter-affidavit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 and dated November 5, 2024, the marketers responded to an originating summons filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. They argued that granting the refinery’s application would have disastrous consequences for the country’s oil sector.

The marketers further emphasized that efforts to monopolize the oil industry would be a recipe for disaster for the nation.

Dangote Refinery, in its originating summons dated September 6, 2024, had sued the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, and several other entities, including AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, as the 1st to 7th defendants.

The refinery prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.

It stated that such licenses should only be issued in circumstances where there is a petroleum product shortfall.

It also urged the court to declare that NMDPRA is in violation of its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries such as the company.

Shafa, A. A. Rano, and Matrix Petroleum, however, responded that Dangote refinery does not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians.

They noted that the plaintiff had not placed anything before the court to prove the contrary.

They argued that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued an import licence by NMDPRA to import petroleum products in Nigeria within the meaning of Section 317(9) of the PIA.

They also noted that they are fully qualified for the issuance of the import licences issued to them by the 1st defendant, as they duly met all the legal requirements for the issuance of such import licences, before the same were issued to them.

“The import licences lawfully and validly issued to the defendants did not in any way whatsoever, cripple the plaintiff’s business or its refinery.

“The import licenses issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and other relevant laws,” they contended.

They insisted that giving Dangote Refinery the power of monopoly in Nigeria’s petroleum industry as it sought in the instant suit, would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in the country.

Stressing that such an act would further deteriorate the country’s critically ailing economy.

They also added that it would “unleash untold hardship on Nigerians, all of which constitute a recipe for disaster in the polity”.

The marketers explained that if Nigeria puts all her energy eggs in one basket by stopping the importation of petroleum products and allowing the plaintiff to be the sole producer and supplier of petroleum products in Nigeria, with liberty to determine the prices at which it supplies the products, the prices of petroleum products will continue to rise and energy security will elude Nigeria.

They also noted that should the refinery break down being a monopolized sector, the country will be plunged into a hot mess of energy crisis.

“That in the event of any breakdown in or obstruction to the production chain of the plaintiff which stops it from producing Nigeria will be thrown into energy crises because it does not have the reserves that would last it for at least 30 days that it would need to order, pay for, freight and import refined products into tanks in Nigeria.

“That amidst the glaring absence of any credible and demonstrable proof that the plaintiff refines and supplies adequate petroleum products for the daily use/consumption of Nigerians, is a recipe for disaster in Nigeria’s energy sector.

They further told the court that granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiff was a design to leave Nigeria and Nigerians at the mercy of the plaintiff with respect to the availability and cost of purchasing petroleum products in the country.

The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed January 20, 2025, for a report of settlement or service.

  • Dangote Exports Products

Meanwhile, three foreign firms have accounted for about 75 per cent of what’s being lifted from the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery, a new report has stated.

A report by Bloomberg on Wednesday said Vitol Group, Trafigura Group, and BP Plc are the dominant buyers of fuels from the oil refinery that’s reshaping petroleum trading in Africa and Europe.

The trio has accounted for the vast majority of the plant’s shipments since flows began ratcheting up around the middle of this year, according to data from Precise Intelligence, a new oil-and-gas trading analytics firm based in Geneva.

The report quotes products offtake from February 27 to October 10 with other customers including the local market taking 25 percent of total fuel purchases from the company.

Earlier this year, Dangote began operations and kick-started the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

Once it’s fully up and running, Dangote should be able to process about 650,000 barrels a day of crude into products including gasoline and diesel.

That will far exceed the fuel making capacity of any single plant in Europe or Africa, helping to reshape the regions’ oil and fuel trading.

The emergence of Dangote has already trimmed a glut of Nigerian crude.

Analysis of the report showed that the refinery has loaded almost 6 million tons of fuel since starting up.

This is equivalent to almost 45 million barrels, loading rates averaged about 35,000 tonnes a day in October, its data showed.

Dangote itself said late last month that the refinery had reached processing rates of about 420,000 barrels a day of crude.

The plant is also selling into the Nigerian market.

The composition of fuel cargoes loading from Dangote is closely watched because it offers clues into where the refinery is at in terms of starting up different processing units.

On the products sold, the figures show that automotive gas oil — commonly known as diesel — is the largest cargo type being lifted, accounting for the highest proportion of shipments. This is followed by fuel oil, which ranks second in terms of volume.

Together, these two products make up more than 60 per cent of the total output being collected from the plant.

Other significant fuel types being processed include gasoline, which is used for cars and other light vehicles, and jet fuel, primarily utilised by the aviation industry for aircraft.

 

Credit: The PUNCH

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